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Jingle bells, all is swell.
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Monday, December 22, 2014
GHAEA H.E.L.P. Blog December 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
November 2014
American Education Week: Nov. 17 - 21
"Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility."
"An investment in knowledge always pays
the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
What's NEW?
Assessment News On November 4, 2014, members of the Assessment Task Force recommended that Iowa lawmakers adopt the Smarter Balanced assessments as Iowa’s new state test for public and accredited nonpublic schools starting with the 2016-17 school year. The task force will continue to work on a final report, which is due in January to the Legislature, to the State Board of Education and to Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck.
340 Success Stories Through the National Blue Ribbon Schools program, 340 schools are receiving recognition for either their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Each of the schools—290 public and 50 private—has released one-page profiles detailing its work in providing all students with a well-rounded education, using technology in the classroom, and encouraging educator collaboration and stakeholder engagement to ensure that students succeed.
Did You Know? The makeup of the 114th Congress will set quite a few records, including more women and minorities than any previous Congress, the largest Republican majority in the House since before World War II, and the first Congress since World War II to not include a veteran of that war.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
October 2014
Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
What's NEW:
Upcoming Continuous Improvement Model: You may have been hearing buzz around the work of collaborative teams of DE/ AEA/ LEA members developing a unified improvement process for Iowa. This table captures the vision so far.Early Literacy Implementation (ELI): At this time, schools have most likely completed the Fall Universal Screening assessments and have moved forward to: 1) examining the health of Core Instruction, 2) identifying students in need of intervention, and 3) progress monitoring. As a reminder, many resources are available to support this implementation on the Department of Education's ELI page.
Iowa Reading Research Center (Building Iowa's Home for Literacy) launched their new web site. Check it out for "Latest News" "Facebook Feed" and "Twitter Feed" Iowa Reading Research Center is an online collection of literacy resources available to the public for classroom learning and teaching, at-home support, and educator research for children birth through 12th grade. Resources collected have undergone varying levels of screening to ensure research is accurate and relevant to visitors.
What's DUE:
October 31: TLC ApplicationsOctober 31: Special Education Count Date
It is not too late to sign up for the ELI Data Review Days. Participants MUST have received training on TIER and FAST assessments during the summer 2014. In this course, participants will understand the data obtained from FAST and use Collaborative Inquiry Questions to build an MTSS system. Follow this link to register.
For other H.E.L.P. topics and support, visit our Google Site.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
September 2014 There's lots more on the GHAEA H.E.L.P. SiteWhat's NEW?
New Iowa Core Website
The Iowa Department of Education will launch a new Iowa Core website this fall to help Iowans better access and use our state’s academic standards, as well as supporting resources educators may use to implement the Iowa Core. The website is part of a larger Iowa Core Resources project, which is designed to bridge the gap between the work to set rigorous standards at the state level and the work to put those standards into practice in classrooms. The new Iowa Core website will have three sections: searchable standards, resources for educators, and resources for parents and the community. Watch the Iowa Department of Education’s website for updates.Meeting ELI Requirements
The majority of schools in GHAEA are meeting ELI requirements using the free FAST tool provided by the Department of Education and the associated IowaTIER data system. The focus of the work at this time is getting schools into IowaTIER to complete the Universal Screener for students K-3. Further support in the form of training will follow later this year in regards to Progress Monitoring and Interventions. Each Friday, there are Q&A webinars designed to support those involved in the FAST/ Iowa TIER work. Click here to locate transcripts from previous sessions and to find details about upcoming webinars and scroll down to Technical Assistance Sessions. To sign up for training on IGDIs (Universal Screening measures for Preschool, NOT a required component of ELI legislation), follow this link. Deadline is October 10.What's DUE?
- September 30, 2014 Marks the end of access to the Smarter Balance Digital Library for Iowa Educators. Download any resource you wish to keep. NOW.
- October 10, 2014 Last date to register for IGDIs training.
- October 31, 2014 TLC Applications due.
You've made it through September! Congratulations for completing all the reports to the DE!
Friday, August 22, 2014
Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
August 2014
Sign up for the H.E.L.P. blog to stay up-to-date about what's new and what's due! Follow this link to find out how.What's New
The Iowa DE will be offering a Mini Summit on Wednesday, September 17th in Creston, at Southwest Iowa Community College. They have held these Summits in other AEAs and they have been very popular. Sessions will be provided on topics such as: Early Childhood, Assessment, Teacher Leadership Compensation, Special Education, Licensure, MTSS/RtI, Legislation and Federal Reporting, Transportation, Food and Nutrition, Fine Arts and much more. Please see the attached draft agenda for more information on session topics. Iowa education director Brad Buck will speak to attendees during lunch, in room 220. Lunch will be available to purchase onsite. Space is limited, be sure to register early. Register for the Mini Summit here.In the first week of August, the Governor made the decision to change the status of Iowa from a Governing State in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium to an Affiliate State. That means that AEA and LEA access to the Digital Library and over 1500 resources posted to date will end on September 30, 2014 (so download as much as you need or want now). During the next Iowa Legislative session the Assessment Task Force, which is made up of parents, educators, and business members, will make a recommendation on whether to move to Smarter Balanced or stay with Iowa Testing as our AYP assessment. The Legislature will then make the final decision. If they choose to move to Smarter Balanced, we will have access to the Digital Library again by late summer 2015. By then the library should have grown to more than 3000 resources. Learn more about the Task Force here.
What's Due
Certified Annual Reports, CPlan, CAR, SES, Transportation Reports are due September 15. For more information, follow this link to the Department of Education website. In other words, be nice to your Administrator during this hectic reporting time. =)
Friday, July 25, 2014
School Improvement H.E.L.P. Blog July 2014
Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
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Why sign up for this Blog or visit the H.E.L.P. Site?
We invite you to watch this 2 1/2 minute video.
Save the Dates
Department of Education Trainings for
2014 - 2015
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Training
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Location
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Date
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Time
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State Accreditation Site Visit Training
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Red Oak (GHAEA)
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August 27, 2014
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10 – 11 AM
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C-Plan/Iowa Core Plan Training
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Red Oak (GHAEA)
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August 27, 2014
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1 - 4 PM
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C-Plan/Iowa Core Plan Training
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Red Oak (GHAEA)
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August 28, 2014
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1:30 – 4 PM
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State Accreditation Site Visit Training
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Halverson (GHAEA)
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August 29, 2014
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10 – 11 AM
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C-Plan/Iowa Core Plan Training
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Halverson (GHAEA)
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August 29, 2014
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1 – 4 P
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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
School Improvement H.E.L.P. Blog: June 2014
If you are like us, the summertime schedule allows you to catch up on some reading. Here are two recommendations for your consideration.
Supporting Beginning Teachers: Recommended by Connie
“Beginners in the Classroom: What the Changing Demographics of Teaching Mean for Schools, Students, and Society” finds that new teachers leave the profession in large numbers mostly because they don’t get the support they need. Comprehensive induction can improve retention and new teacher performance, the report says, but it is rarely provided. The report, by Carnegie Senior Associate Susan Headden, explores the causes and consequences of what may be a permanent shift toward a less experienced profession. And it looks at some promising ways of addressing the problem, including intensive mentoring and residency programs.Smarter Balanced Digital Library: Recommended by Sherry
Iowa is currently part of the Smarter Balanced consortium, an organization supporting a BALANCED assessment system: summative measures, interim tests and formative assessment. Many of you may have been involved in the summative test pilot that occurred this year. Also happening this year somewhat behind the scenes was a team of AEA, LEA and Department of Education teachers and consultants working to build the Smarter Balanced Digital Library. This library represents the FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT piece of SBAC. It is designed to support teachers in using practices that target the Core in English/Language Arts or Math and garner formative assessment information. It is filled with two kinds of resources:- Instructional Resources that are lessons or strategies or activities that teachers can use in their classrooms, and
- Professional Learning Resources that are designed to help educators learn more about formative assessment.
As of June 2, the Digital Library is now OPEN to Iowa Educators. Superintendents recently received information on how to get their employees set up to use the Digital Library. Educators are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, as it is available for only a limited time. As of the end of September, Iowa's membership in Smarter Balanced will end, and therefore your access to the library will also be terminated. If the Iowa legislation decides to continue to be a part of the SBAC and if they decide to subscribe to the digital library, that access will resume. We will not know Iowa's status as a SBAC member for some time.
If you have questions about the library, or how to navigate it, or how it is organized, please contact Sherry Huffman. There are some great things in the Digital Library that the State Network of Educators have worked hard to get posted. Please use it as much as you can during this limited time!
Your input requested
We would like to improve the H.E.L.P. site and blog in order to best support your school improvement efforts. Please share your thoughts in this two question survey.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
GHAEA School Improvement H.E.L.P.
Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
June 2014
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| Thank you for subscribing to or visiting the GHAEA School Improvement H.E.L.P. Blog. We would like to improve this resource in order to best support your school improvement efforts. Please share your thoughts in this two question survey. |
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
H.E.L.P. Blog for May 2014: "SPRING FEVER Edition"
*WHAT'S NEW*
Standards for Professional Learning - Change in Iowa
On March 31, 2014 the Iowa State Board of Education approved revising the standards for professional learning (Iowa Code 281—83.6) which address the shifting landscape of adult learning for teachers, districts and AEAs. These will go into effect June 4, 2014. The Professional Learning Standards outline the characteristics that lead to effective teaching practices, supportive leadership, collaboration and results. Briefly they include: Learning Communities, Leadership, Resources, Data, Learning Designs, Implementation and Outcomes. To read more follow this link.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Update
As a current member of the SBA consortium, Iowa educators will soon have access to the Digital Library: an online, user friendly, searchable information center that contains only high quality, vetted formative assessment resources. This interactive library allows educators from member states to use and rate resources and to collaborate. Iowa’s State Network of Educator members and State Lead Team members may offer a “preview” of the library to others. Iowa educators will have full access when the Digital Library goes live on June 3, 2014. For more information, contact Sherry Huffman, member of the State Lead Team: shuffman@ghaea.org
Best Practices in Social Studies Institute
This training opportunity will be held June 24-25 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa,
600 E. Locust Street, in Des Moines. Click here for more information and Registration. Contact Stefanie Wager with questions: stefanie.wager@iowa.gov
Improved Graduation Rate
You may have heard buzz about the Iowa graduation rate increasing for the third year in a row. Green Hills AEA has also seen a similar trend.
600 E. Locust Street, in Des Moines. Click here for more information and Registration. Contact Stefanie Wager with questions: stefanie.wager@iowa.gov
Improved Graduation Rate
You may have heard buzz about the Iowa graduation rate increasing for the third year in a row. Green Hills AEA has also seen a similar trend.
| Graduation Rate |
2009-10
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2010-11
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2011-12
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2012-13
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GHAEA IEP
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63.17
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70.09
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74.77
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82.00
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GHAEA F/RL
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77.73
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80.92
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83.79
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85.15
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GHAEA
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87.23 %
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87.99 %
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89.77 %
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91.32 %
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State of Iowa
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88.8
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88.32
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89.26
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89.68
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*WHAT'S DUE*
Schools wishing to participate in the Early Literacy Implementation (ELI) Training must register by May 2, 2014. Follow this link to sign up for a location near you.
Upcoming Report Deadlines:
- May 5: Spring BEDS report opens
- May 14: AYP site opens
- June 13: Spring BEDS certification deadline
- June 18: Spring Student Reporting in Iowa certification deadline
- June 19: AYP initial certification deadline
Have a marvelous May!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Happy Spring!
April 2014 Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
What's NEW?
There have been recent discussions about assessment in the state of Iowa, and that often leads to questions. We present an Assessment Q&A in this month's blog.
What is the latest with Smarter Balanced Assessment?
The summative assessment component of Smarter Balanced has moved from the piloting phase to the field testing phase. Beginning in March, the Field Test presents all assessment items to students in consortium states. The purpose is to gather information necessary for the final evaluation of item quality. Results will inform preliminary achievement standards.
A group of Iowa educators (consisting of a State Lead Team and State Network of Educators) are currently developing, submitting, reviewing and posting highest quality formative assessment resources to the Smarter Balanced Digital Library.
The Smarter Balanced assessment system and the launch of the Digital Library is slated to occur for the 2014-15 School Year. The extent of Iowa's continued participation in the Smarter Balanced consortium has yet to be determined.
I thought Smarter Balanced was to be our new "state test?"
That remains to be seen. An Assessment Task Force was commissioned by the 2013 General Assembly to study Iowa's assessment needs and to recommend a new state assessment for public and accredited nonpublic schools. The Assessment Task Force is examining past, present, and future options for the accountability assessment. Most recently, the subgroup is completing rubrics for criteria that any potential assessment is compared against. It examines the following characteristics of the assessment: Fairness, Grade availability, Availability for spring administration, Accurately describes student achievement and growth, Valid, Reliable, Piloted/ tested in Iowa, Content alignment, Alignment in rigor, Ability to predict college / career readiness, Cost, and Technical Support. Once the rubrics are finalized, they will be used to determine an assessment's fit to be Iowa's State Assessment.
What is new in the world of Alternate Assessment?
Iowa participates in a consortium named Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM). The DLM Alternate Assessment System is a comprehensive assessment system being designed to support student learning and to more validly measure what students with significant cognitive disabilities know and can do. DLM is currently in the second round of field testing; Council Bluffs is one of the participating districts. Parent and educator focus groups, a report of progress in the School Leader Update and training opportunities are all scheduled for this spring/ summer.
What are the current requirements for the "second assessment?"
Chapter 12 says:
A school or school district shall establish at least three performance levels on at least one district wide valid and reliable assessment in the areas of reading and mathematics for at least grades 4, 8, and 11, and science in grades 8 and 11 or use the achievement levels established by the Iowa Testing Program to meet the intent of this sub paragraph (2). This is why schools use Iowa Assessment.
According to Chapter 12, here are the guidelines for the 'second assessment:' Multiple assessment measures, for reporting to the local community or state, means more than one valid and reliable instrument that quantifies district-wide student learning, including specific grade level data. The multiple measure/s can be given at any grade level. This is a local decision. At a minimum, a school district or accredited nonpublic school must have at least one additional assessment in reading, mathematics, and science.
In the most recent NCLB update, it does indicate that schools must report to the community on reading and math achievement at grades 3-8 and 11. They must report to the community on science achievement in grades 5, 8, 11.
In the most recent NCLB update, it also says that Iowa schools will have to test students in reading and math at grades 3-8, 10 and 11 (in order to use the Growth Model).
Where can I go to watch the progress of educational bills?
Where can I go to watch the progress of educational bills?
Follow this link to view the bills impacting education that are currently in discussion in Iowa Legislature. This session is anticipated to adjourn by April 30th or before.
What's the big deal with EdInsight?
Educators in Iowa are harnessing the power of EdInsight, Iowa’s education data warehouse to transform data into information since the project inception in 2007. EdInsight offers dozens of pre-formatted reports which are designed to answer an educational question quickly, with a minimum of training. Reports are available in the following data families: achievement and growth, equity and school improvement, annual progress report, curriculum, special education, student indicators and finance. EdInsight also contains a data cube that provides end users the ability to do ad hoc analyses.
There are 202 EdInsight users in the GHAEA area including teachers, school administrators, AEA consultants and AEA administrators. There have been log-ins at the district level for 74% of districts in GHAEA in the past 6 months, 439 log-ins from users in the area in February alone. Access to EdInsight requires training to prepare users in using the warehouse effectively and efficiently.
For more information about EdInsight, contact Sherry Huffman at shuffman@ghaea.org.
What's DUE?
The calendar on the GHAEA School Improvement H.E.L.P. site will continue to be updated with important dates.
What's the big deal with EdInsight?
Educators in Iowa are harnessing the power of EdInsight, Iowa’s education data warehouse to transform data into information since the project inception in 2007. EdInsight offers dozens of pre-formatted reports which are designed to answer an educational question quickly, with a minimum of training. Reports are available in the following data families: achievement and growth, equity and school improvement, annual progress report, curriculum, special education, student indicators and finance. EdInsight also contains a data cube that provides end users the ability to do ad hoc analyses.
There are 202 EdInsight users in the GHAEA area including teachers, school administrators, AEA consultants and AEA administrators. There have been log-ins at the district level for 74% of districts in GHAEA in the past 6 months, 439 log-ins from users in the area in February alone. Access to EdInsight requires training to prepare users in using the warehouse effectively and efficiently.
For more information about EdInsight, contact Sherry Huffman at shuffman@ghaea.org.
What's DUE?
The calendar on the GHAEA School Improvement H.E.L.P. site will continue to be updated with important dates.
Happy April, Everyone!
Friday, February 21, 2014
February 2014 Helping Educational Leaders Prepare
What’s NEW?
TLC Year 1 Selection Process and Results, March 3, 2014
Council Bluffs and East Union applications were approved for 2014-2015. Click here to view the following reports on the DE website.- Iowa TLC Statistics 2014
- Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation System 2014 School District Application Scores
- Teacher Leadership and Compensation – Accepted School Districts – March 3, 2014
- Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation System – Local Plan Highlights – 2014
- Teacher Leadership and Compensation Applications – District List – February 3, 2014
- 2014-02-28 Letter to Superintendents on TLC Process
- Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation Members – 2013-2014
Here are some facts we know about those plans that were submitted. 139 applications representing 146 school districts were submitted which involves 323,892 students. That represents just over 40% of the school districts and about 67% of the students in Iowa. The majority of the plans are Option 3. The 9 GHAEA districts submitting applications include: CAM, Central Decatur, Clarinda, Council Bluffs, Diagonal, East Union, Harlan, Lenox, and Underwood.
"There's a new legislative session underway in Iowa..." Dr. Buck shares the Department of Education's prioritized Iowa focus including: TLC, Early Literacy (MTSS), Iowa Core, STEM, and Competency-Based Education in this video.
Eli's comin' ...this summer! ELI - Early Literacy Implementation The Iowa Department of Education, in conjunction with Collaborating for Iowa’s Kids (C4K), will provide training and technology support to implement state-purchased universal screening and progress monitoring assessments for K-3 students for any district that wants it (FAST and IGDIs). More information will be provided about the training dates.
The Iowa School Counseling Program Framework provides a model to guide and assist Iowa's school counselors in the implementation of a comprehensive and accountable school counseling program. The sequential K-12 program is comprehensive in scope, preventive in design, developmental in nature, driven by data and integral to a school district's curricula and instructional program.
The Fine Arts Alignment with the Iowa Core Universal Constructs is available. These Iowa documents demonstrate how fine arts support the implementation of Iowa Core. Fine arts are particularly well-suited in supporting student success with the 21st Century skills.
What’s DUE?
March 15, 2014 is the last date to certify APR, CSIP, DDSDP, Iowa Core and SINA/DINA plans within C-Plan for the 2013-2014 school year. Thank you to the majority of districts and schools who certified their plans by the original September 15, 2013, due date.
Plans that have not been certified by the district/school and the state or AEA by March 15, 2014, will no longer be accessible for editing or certifying, and the state will consider the plans unfinished for 2012-2013. This may result in a non-compliance citation or a delay in funding from the Department, so please be sure to complete and certify all of your plans.
Also, it's time to DIG IN and reflect using the Iowa Professional Development Model Steps and Tools available to assist your leadership teams as you analyze student acheivement and teacher implementation data, determine needs, and start incubating plans for professional learning in 2014-15.
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